Perfection
by kohitsujichan
Summary: Perfection doesn't last, but maybe messy tabloid fodder does...
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

For one golden moment, it had all been perfect, but perfection never lasts. Almost as quickly as they had become official, they broke up. There were still articles about the hot new relationship on newsstands when they announced their breakup, and soon, the titles like "Tsuruga Ren Off The Market" and "Katsuki Loves Mio?" were replaced by speculation about their breakup, what was the reason for it? had it been a publicity stunt? was it really over?

"I have nothing but tremendous respect for Ren," Kyouko was quoted in one article, "but it seems we're better as friends."

"Kyouko is still extremely important to me," Ren said in another article, "and precisely because she is such an important person, I want only the best for her. Being in a relationship doesn't seem to be what's best at this time."

Who broke up with whom and why seemed to be the question of the hour. After all, it wasn't everyday that Japan's number one actor announced his new relationship and breakup within the space of two weeks.

As the rumor that their relationship and breakup was all a publicity stunt went wild, so did the ratings for any show that either Ren or Kyouko took part in, and as the ratings spiked, in turn, the rumors became even stronger.

"I'm so sorry to have involved you in this," Kyouko said, doing a dogeza on the LoveMe room floor, a gesture Ren couldn't see over the phone.

"It's not your fault, Mogami-san," Ren said. "I was the one who started it."

"But I was the one who ended it and made you look bad," she said woefully. "They're saying things like you got dumped by a newbie actress and you're obviously still in love and some others are saying that you're a playboy and that you—"

"Mogami-san, really it's ok," he stopped her.

"But it's all my fault!" she said

* * *

><p>Kyouko hadn't meant for things to turn out the way that they had. But it seemed that once the course of events had been set in motion, she had been powerless to stop it. She never would have imagined that one evening could change things so much.<p>

"Kyouko, you really should come have a drink with me," the costar from her new drama insisted for the nth time.

"Thank you for the offer, Matsutomo-san" she said, "but I'm afraid I'm waiting for my ride and I would hate to inconvenience him."

"Your boyfriend?" he asked.

Kyouko blushed. "No—"

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I can take you home after. Just call him and tell him you've got a date."

Kyouko blushed again. "I couldn't."

"You're cute when you're shy, Kyouko-chan," he said. "But you know, they say girls in love get even cuter. I think I'd like to see that. Come on, one drink? I promise I'll take you home right after."

"That won't be necessary," Ren said, drawing up beside Kyouko and placing an arm around her shoulder. "She's already got a ride."

Kyouko cringed. She could feel the brightness of his smile without even looking. She wanted to get out of there fast.

"When did you get here, Tsuruga-san? Have you been waiting? I'm so sorry! I'll get my bag right away and we can leave," Kyouko said.

"Don't take too long," he said, the brightness of his smile increasing, "I can't always be getting you home so late. Taisho and Okami-san will worry."

Kyouko nodded and rushed to get her things. When she came back, Ren took her bag and she called a quick goodbye to her flirtatious costar before heading to the car with Ren.

"So, how do you like your new drama?" he asked from the relative privacy of the car.

"It seems like it's going to be a wonderful experience," she said. "We're just starting, so we're all still getting to know each other, but the cast is really fun to work with...most of the time."

"I see what you mean," Ren said, pulling out of the parking lot. "Is that Matsutomo-san always so…friendly?"

"How much did you hear?" she asked miserably.

"Enough," Ren chuckled.

"I don't know what to do," Kyouko bemoaned. "No one has ever been that persistent before."

"Just tell him you have a boyfriend," Ren said.

"But I already told him I didn't have one," she said.

"I could stand in," Ren said, a hint of the emperor peeking though for just a moment, "He already thinks we're dating anyway."

"Eh? He thinks _you're_ my boyfriend, Tsuruga-san?" Kyouko asked in disbelief, her eyes wide as saucers.

"So it would seem," he said.

"But, why?" Kyouko asked.

"Well, I came to pick you tonight…" he said, glossing over his possessive actions and familiar language.

"You've given me rides before and other people don't think we're dating."

Ren was silent.

"Do they?" Kyouko shrieked.

"Let them think what they want," he said.

"But it's not true! What about your reputation? How could someone like you go out with a newbie talent like me? Doesn't it bother you? What should we do? I'll tell everyone immediately! I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san!"

"Mogami-san, don't worry about it. It's fine," he said.

"But your reputation!"

"If dating the girl I love spoils my reputation, then I don't need my reputation," he said.

"That's right!" Kyouko said. Her heart felt momentarily tight as she remembered. "What about the girl you love? Wouldn't she feel bad hearing that you're dating me?"

"There's no one to feel bad," he said.

"But—"

"Would dating me be so horrible?" Ren asked, glancing at Kyouko. She barely managed to survive the puppy-dog eyes due to Ren being mostly in profile as he drove.

"N-no," she said. Dating Ren wouldn't be horrible at all, and that was what she was afraid of.

"Then it's settled, we're dating from now on. If Matsutomo-san asks you out again, tell him that I don't want you going out with other men."

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>The next time Matsutomo asked her out, Kyouko somehow managed to squeak out the much rehearsed line, the one Ren had drilled her on over and over.<p>

"R-ren doesn't want me dating other guys."

"So you _are_ dating him," Matsutomo said. "You should have just told me, Kyouko-chan. You could have saved me from a broken heart."

"Eh? I'm so sorry!" Kyouko exclaimed, ready to prostrate herself.

"Relax, Kyouko-chan. I'm just kidding. I'm happy for you."

* * *

><p>Kyouko should have known better than to trust her luck with the god of love. She had counted it as a simple plan to keep Matsutomo-san from his constant flirting, but he too was a member of LME, and the President's information network was extensive. Before she knew it, she found herself in the President's office with Ren answering "Yes" to the president's question of, "Are you really dating?"<p>

The President had shed a tear of joy, had hugged her, and called for a press conference. She couldn't have exactly taken it all back, but the more interviews they had together, the more talk shows, the more she heard Ren's affectionate words, the guiltier she felt. Ren deserved someone better. Someone capable of love.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I know you were just trying to help me, but I can't lie anymore. As long as you're with someone like me, you'll never find someone who really deserves you."

"What if it wasn't a lie?" he asked. "Then would it be ok?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't."

"It's ok, Kyouko," he said, "I'll take care of it."

Ren confessed everything to the President, they issued a statement about their breakup and it was over. Aside from the press, everything was back to normal between the two of them, or it should have been, but it was different now. Kyouko somehow couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something terrible to Ren, something worse than sullying his name by linking it with her own, and yet, she missed their brief time as a couple, which made her feel even guiltier.

* * *

><p>"Mogami-san, it is not your fault," he said, sighing into the phone.<p>

"But I—"

"Mogami-san, do you want to know the truth?" he asked.

"The truth?"

"Yes," he said. "The truth. The truth is, I didn't ask you out for your benefit. I asked you out for mine."

"I'm not sure I understand," Kyouko said.

"I— I can't do this over the phone, just a minute," he said.

"Eh? Do what over the phone?"

"Ask you out properly," came the dual sound of his voice through the earpiece and through the door.

She looked up to see Ren flipping his phone shut as he made his way into the room.

"Tsuruga-san? When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just now," he said. "I wanted to do it right this time."

She drew her brows together in a silent question.

"Mogami-san, Kyouko, I love you and I want to date you. For real this time."

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>"Together Again!" read one headline, "Japan's New Golden Couple" read another.<p>

The magazine racks that had been full of scintillating details of their emotional breakup, were replaced by details of their touching reunion. None of the magazines had it quite right, but they didn't need perfection. Being together was perfection enough.

**AN: I haven't written anything, well any fanfiction, in a reeeeeeeeeally long time, so I'm a bit rusty. This didn't exactly turn out as I'd planned, but at least this proves I'm alive, if anyone was wondering... Thank you for reading! Leave me a review if you'd like to let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I actually managed to write another chapter. Warning: it's pretty much pure fluff. This chapter is for mouseter and rjifblue who asked for more :)**

**I do not own Skip Beat!**

This dating thing was much harder than Ren had imagined, not because their tightly packed schedules made it hard for them to see each other for more than a few moments in passing, not because of the media breathing down their necks, not even because of the numerous men who were still obviously going after Kyouko. Dating was more difficult than Ren had imagined because Ren had Kyouko and Kuon wanted her.

It wasn't as if Ren had a split personality. He wasn't crazy, though sometimes he felt like it, but he wanted to be with Kyouko forever. That meant someday it would be Kuon and not Ren by her side and that, in turn meant that Ren would have to tell Kyouko who he really was. He knew the day would come and was terrified that when it did, he would lose her.

"Tsuruga-san, you're really quiet tonight," Kyouko said after an entire day of interviews trying to delve into their private life together.

"Am I?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "You've been quiet all evening. Is something wrong?"

"I guess I'm just tired from so many interviews," he said with a smile. "I'm just happy I can spend a quiet evening with you all to myself."

Kyouko narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What?" he asked.

"You're doing it again," she said.

"Doing what?" he asked.

"You're giving me the something's-wrong-but-I-don't-want-you-to-worry-so-I'm-going-fake-it-and-pretend-everything's-alright smile," she said.

Ren stared. He didn't know how she did it. He was Japan's number one actor, he was able to fool everyone, yet she saw through everything. That was what troubled him.

"So are you going to tell me?" Kyouko asked, "Or am I going to have to keep feeding you cake until you're ready to talk."

Ren glanced down at his partially eaten lemon sponge cake, a light and only mildly sweet concoction of Kyouko's, but a dessert nonetheless. He thought better of his silence.

"What would you do if you found out that the person you loved was a secret agent?"he asked.

He gave her a scenario and, as predicted, Kyouko got that look in her eyes and went into acting mode.

"How long have we been together?" she asked, beginning to gather material for her role as Girl who finds out her boyfriend is a secret agent.

"Not long, but you've been close for a long time before that," he said.

"Why didn't he tell me?" she asked.

"He wanted to," Ren said with more feeling than he'd intended. He cleared his throat. "He wanted to, but if it got out before his mission was complete, it would destroy the work he's been doing for the past six years, and more than that, he's afraid that if he tells her, she'll leave him."

"So then how do I find out?" she asked.

"What?"

"Well, you asked what I'd do if I find out, so if he doesn't tell me, how do I find out?"

Ren thought for a moment. "You overhear him talking to his commanding officer."

"What do I overhear?"

"Is that important?" he asked.

"Well, the last time I overheard a guy talking about me behind my back I swore to take revenge on him," Kyouko said, her demons escaping for a moment before she went back to normal and said, "So what I overhear really makes all the difference."

Ren shuddered for a moment. He'd considered the possibility of Kyouko leaving him if she heard about his past. He hadn't considered that he could possibly become a second Fuwa Shou. He had to swallow a lump in his throat before going on.

"Well, his mission is about to end, so his commanding officer asks what he'll do when it's over, and he tells him that he'll marry you and have a life together."

Kyouko seemed to be deep in thought. "I probably wouldn't do anything," she finally said.

"You wouldn't?" Ren asked.

"Well, it's hard to say. I don't really have any experience in relationships expect with you, but if it were you, I probably wouldn't do anything," she continued, her face growing red, "I mean I trust you so, as long as you weren't lying about how you felt about me, I'd probably be ok. I mean, I'd be a little sad that you couldn't come to me, but…"

"So you wouldn't leave?" Ren asked, trying to keep the relief out of his voice.

"No," she said. "I'd wait for you to tell me when you were ready and then I'd be there for you."

"Even if I'd done horrible things on my mission?" he asked.

"But you wouldn't do anything really bad," Kyouko said.

"But if I had?" he asked.

"Well, I the love person you are now …" Kyouko said in a barely audible voice.

"Say it again," Ren said, for the moment, completely forgetting the original purpose of his line of questioning.

"No, it's embarrassing!" exclaimed a bright red Kyouko.

"But you've never said it before," Ren said.

They had been back together for a month now, the media had finally begun to stop questioning whether they would last this time around, but Ren was still worried. Not only did he have the secret of his identity weighing on his mind, but also the concern that Kyouko was, once again, just going along with it. He had still been the only one to say "I love you." He was not going to let this slip by.

"I'm the only one who's said it, Kyouko," he told her.

"Eh? That can't be true," she said.

"It is," he confirmed. "Except for just now, you've never said it."

"But—"

"You said it a moment ago. Can't you say it so I can hear you this time?" he asked, dialing the puppy-dog look up to its maximum setting.

"I- I love you," Kyouko said. Her face now matching the roses filling the vase on the table between them.

"I love you too, Kyouko," he said, beaming his God-smile her way. "which is why I have to tell you. Kyouko, I am the secret agent."

"Eh?" Kyouko asked.

Ren's "mission" really had been about to end. It wasn't long after he told Kyouko about his secret identity that he was offered a role in a Hollywood film, skyrocketing his fame both in both countries to the point that he finally felt he had done enough to surpass his father. When he announced his true identity to the world, there was a mass media frenzy.

"What are you going to do now that you've finally achieved your goal?" one reporter asked.

"I'm going to set a new goal," he said.

"And what is that?" the reporter asked.

"This time, I want to surpass my father in another area of life," he said, then turning to Kyouko, he got down on one knee and proposed then and there.

"Not until I become the number one actress in Japan," she said.

They were married a year later.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Sorry it was only Ren and Kyouko again...I guess I just can't broaden this story. Hopefully it feels more complete now though. If you'd like to let me know what you think, please leave a review :)**


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